Greens’ New Zealand
New York James Beard Foundation hosts a tasting of New Zealand’s top wineries.
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Smail Away
Seven days after coming home to take the New Zealand Open, David Smail won his second professional tournament after eight years playing – the Canon Challenge in Sydney.
Jazzy sound
New Zealand’s c.l. bob impress in Melbourne, “an inventive ensemble whose music ranges from AfroCaribbean shuffles to Hendrix-style mayhem”.
Iron Birthday Suits
“It was my destiny to win today,” said birthday boy Kiwi Bryan Rhodes after his record-breaking 8hrs 41:53 win in the Malaysian Ironman Triathlon.
Luna Live!
New Zealand-born Luna lead Dean Wareham’s “uber-romantic, world-weary lyrics” feature on recent release Luna Live!
Unheralded Edge
“To connoisseurs for whom the thrill of discovering an unheralded wine is almost as much fun as drinking it, educator John Sheldon’s advice is straightforward: ‘Move to the cutting edge’.”
Political Thrills
“I felt that this picture was made for me, because I love politics and I love making thrillers,” says Kiwi-spawned director Roger Donaldson of missile-drama Thirteen Days, reviewed as “a sleek, fast and…
Earthquake Aid
The New Zealand government has pledged $500,000 in earthquake aid for Gujerat, home state of many of New Zealand’s Indian immigrants.
Fast Sail
Grant Dalton’s big cat Club Med stripped 33 hours off the trans-Indian Ocean record, sighting Australia seven days, fourteen hours after passing the Cape of Good Hope.
Don’t Try and Amuse
The computer at a Japanese bank – “it isn’t wired for humour,” says the ex-New Zealand student Ramesh Thakur.
We Want Waitangi
Canadian victims of the Feb blues want a holiday, citing Waitangi day’s health-giving properties.
Bonded Money
A province of Ontario 2008 bond in New Zealand dollars creates a flurry among savvy Canadian investors.
Tartan Edged
We all like success: the Scots are not immune, claiming Michael Campell’s edge swing as their own.
Smiling Like
Smiling Like is apprentice Michael Walker’s lucky horse. The Wellington Cup was her second victory with the “boom” New Zealander in the saddle.
Postcards from the Edge
“Dad,” revealed the postcard from New Zealand, “went paragliding”. All it takes is a break from routine.
Acting love
British actor Toby Stephens “sips cranberry and soda in restaurants with his girlfriend, the New Zealand actress Anna-Louise Plowman (Flick, The Adulterer)”, and enjoys “choosing colour schemes for his new north London flat.” …
Over the Back Fence
“I think we should say this is not small-town New Zealand, it’s big town America. Whether we meet as neighbours is something for the future,” says Jim Bolger, asked about Bill and Hill, his ex-Presidential neighbours.
Hey Prestwick! An Airport
High-flying New Zealand airport developers Infratil snap up Prestwick Airport in Ayreshire, planning to turn it into a low-cost travel hub.
Wharekauhau Station Seduces
“Included in the rectangular picture window vista is a real sea, Palliser Bay, below the cliffs where the sheep paddocks end, and edged by chalk palisades off to the left.”
Anti-nuke Action
Rainbow Warrior survivor Chris Robinson and New Zealand-based Henk Haazen and his family form part of the flotilla prostesting the shipping of nuclear waste through the Tasman sea. Australian shipments also raise ire.
Fit to Judge?
New Zealand research shows juries have “fairly fundamental” misunderstandings of the law in over 7% of cases.
Big Breach
Kiwi ex-MI6 operative Richard Tomlinson’s memoirs, The Big Breach hits Russian bookshops and are serialised in the Sunday Times, to the dismay of the secret service establishment in Britain.
America’s Cup Turns 150
“It would have felt very wrong to have hosted a celebration of the fact that we lost the cup in 1851, haven’t seen it since and are making no attempt to get it back,” says John…
Ed for Heights
“I was frequently scared and often tired, but there were few moments I would have willingly missed,” says Sir Edmund Hillary in the biography for children, Triumph on Everest.
Cross-cultural carving
A display of Japanese netsuke, small carved toggles for pouches, includes “a mythical bird’s head by a New Zealand carver,” which “successfully combines the imagery of one culture with the aesthetics of Japan.”
Group sex
Veiled body parts and explicit pictures on show at Group Sex, One Eye Gallery, Paekakariki.
Dinosaur amore
Sam Neill confesses to feeling something for his Jurassic co-stars: “There was one little female velociraptor who had a cute haircut, but it was never anything more than holding hands… holding claws.”
Different Age
Queen Victoria reigned over an age of adventure and conquest, innovation and development. She was Empress of the Empire on which the sun never set, including New Zealand, her furthest-flung domain.
Tops for Jumps
Guardian netjetter Sam “takes advantage of New Zealand’s position as tops for adrenaline holidays – he’s just done a bungy jump.”
Saucy Story
“Lee & Perrin’s bottles, with their characteristic long necks, designed to make it easy to Shake Well Before Using, have turned up in shipwrecks, encrusted with barnacles; in the forbidden city of Lhasa, Tibet; and in…
Wheezy September
Mysterious medical matter: asthma admission in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Trinidad all have an unexplained annual peak in the third week of September.
Cultural resonance
”Everything I saw in this film I see in my own country,” says Maori Jillian White, speaking of Native Canadian films screened at Canada’s Sundance festival.
Still sailing
Ian Tew’s soon to be published In Grandfather’s Wake includes an account of finding Grandpa Graham’s old yacht “in full commission” in New Zealand.
Watch for the Splash
MIR is scheduled to descend into the South Pacific “up to 2000 kilometres (1 250 miles) off the coast of Australia…the same distance off the coast of Australia are New Zealand, the French territory of…
Evidence Compelling
“The economic evidence to support broadened and deepened negotiations is compelling,” states former New Zealand Prime Minister Mike Moore, now trying to kick-start free-trade talks in his role as WTO chief.
Long in the Tooth – at 26
New Zealand researchers have uncovered the biting truth – periodontal disease, which leads to loss of teeth, can be a problem from as early as 26.
Fly Away Nanny
Free trips home to New Zealand are among the perks offered to nannies in London’s tight market.
World Without Oz
If Australia didn’t exist, “Kiri Te Kanawa would be known as La Stupenda,” “New Zealanders would outnumber sheep” and “the pavlova would be indisputably a New Zealand Creation.”
Dread Drought
New Zealand artist Horace Moore-Jones painted “one of the few pictorial responses to Australia’s Long Drought” (1895 and 1903), a series which included “Dead Drought as ‘a ghastly emaciated figure of doubtful sex, wearing…
Human Rights for All
New Zealand-born and educated John Fisher is Canada’s leading gay rights activist. “Human rights, for me, are universal and transcend national boundaries,” says Fisher. “Everyone knows someone who is gay or lesbian, and a society that affirms…
Lang may his lum reek
New Zealand’s now home for Scottish actor John Cairney but he makes a yearly return to Scotland for Burns night.
Family Planning, Possums!
David Heath of the Wallaceville Animal Research centre is developing a GM bug that secrets a substance designed to curtail possums’ fertility.
Trans-oceanic Phone Tag
“After a morning spent hiking in New Zealand’s spectacular Rotorua region – a volcanic area of geysers, thermal pools and surreal landscapes – my tour guide, Jacqui, heard the chirping of her cell phone. Then, with…
Hotel Harridans
New Zealand women using hotels make more noise during sex, watch more porn, leave their rooms messier and steal more stuff than men. “I think women are becoming more assertive,” offered a Novotel spokesperson.
Scraps of genius
New Zealand-born artist Rosalie Gascoigne used roadside ephemera in her work: “from the grasses, pebbles, discarded roadside trophies, road signs and softdrinks crates, she built an extraordinary body of work. In her hands and…
Tools out
Carving New Zealand jade is among the retirement pursuits under consideration by Australian songster Rolf Harris.
Top Two
Two New Zealanders – Fred Hollows and Whakatane-born Lindy Chamberlain – make it into the list of top 100 influential Australians.
Eco-racing Comes Home
Top eco-racing teams have registered for October’s South Island race, including New Zealand’s Team Fairydown. “New Zealand, being the birth place of Expedition Racing, is the perfect location for the top teams in the world to experience…
Smartwool
New Zealand’s long-fibre merino makes “Smartwool” – outdoor clothing that’s itch-proof, and “works better than anything else you can find”.
Blanchettes
Maybe it was all the fresh air and vigorous activity? Cate Blanchett says “working on the Lord of the Rings trilogy in New Zealand made her feel especially broody”.
One Blind Mouse
Following the lead of New Zealand company Pulse Data, Israeli firm VirTouch has developed a Braille mouse for blind computer users.
